VALPARAISO Ind. – Luis Hernandez and Randal Diaz homered twice to power a six-homer offensive attack for Indiana State and Zach Davidson worked six strong innings out of the bullpen as the Sycamores secured their 19th consecutive Missouri Valley baseball series win with Friday afternoon's 11-9 win.
 
Indiana State (38-11, 21-5) built an 11-6 advantage heading into the top of the ninth inning as the Connor Hicks (solo) and Diaz (two-run) both connected on home runs to provide insurance for the Sycamore pitching staff. The insurance was needed heading into the bottom of the ninth as Valparaiso (14-37, 6-20) nearly rallied their way back into the game.
 
The Beacons put their first two runners on base in the bottom of the ninth inning before Liam Patton connected on a three-run home run over the left field wall to cut the ISU lead down to 11-9. After Brady Nowicki singled to left center putting the potential game-tying run at the plate, the Sycamores turned to reliever Simon Gregersen (S, 7) to attempt to close out the contest.
 
Gregersen worked his way around a fly out to left and a strikeout for the first two outs, before Brady Renfro drew a walk to put two on with two outs. The Sycamore relief ace worked ahead of Valpo's Kyle Schmack and forced a fly ball to center field with Adam Pottinger sliding in to make the final catch and secured the Indiana State series win.
 
ISU took an early lead in the contest as Luis Hernandez and Parker Stinson connected on back-to-back solo home runs in the top of the first inning to put the Sycamores ahead 2-0.
 
Valparaiso chased ISU starter Brennyn Cutts early in the contest on their way to scoring four runs in the first inning. Davidson (4-1) took over from there for the Sycamores posting a trio of strikeouts to end the Beacons' rally in the bottom of the first inning.
 
The Sycamores rallied back with a five-run third inning highlighted by Hernandez's second home run of the day on their way to retaking the lead, 7-5. Randal Diaz added a pair of home runs in fourth and eighth innings, while Connor Hicks put one off the batter's eye in center field to add to the Indiana State lead.
 
Davidson cruised through six innings of relief work as the reigning Missouri Valley Pitcher of the Week recorded his third consecutive game of eight-plus strikeouts. The Hartsburg, Mo. native retired nine consecutive batters from the end of the third inning into the bottom of the sixth on his way to going 6.0 innings allowing six hits and an unearned run while striking out eight.
 
Cameron Holycross, Cam Edmonson, and Gregersen all worked one inning out of the bullpen on their way to closing out the contest.
 
All nine Sycamores in the starting lineup recorded hits led by Diaz and Adam Pottinger both posting 3-for-5 days. Hernandez, Stinson, and Josue Urdaneta also recorded multi-hit games on Friday afternoon as the Sycamores connected on 16 hits overall in the win.
 
Alex Ryan, Ryan Maka, Brady Nowicki, and Alex Thurston all recorded two-hit games with Ryan and Maka both doubling in the loss.
 
Griffin McCluskey (1-5) took the loss going 4.0 innings allowing seven hits and eight runs while striking out two. Joe Seiber, Jake Jakubowski, and Grant Jablonski all pitched in relief on Friday afternoon.
 
How They Scored

• Luis Hernandez and Parker Stinson hit back-to-back home runs in the top of the first inning to give Indiana State the early 2-0 advantage.
• Valparaiso responded by scoring four runs in the bottom of the first with Alex Ryan's two-run double the key hit, while Ryan Maka added a two-run single down the right field line to give the Beacons the 4-2 lead.
• The Beacons added to the lead in the bottom of the second inning as Brady Renfro beat out an infield single and Alex Thurston scored on an ISU throwing error to put Valparaiso ahead 5-2.
• Luis Hernandez homered for the second time with a two-run shot over the wall in left center in the top of the third, while Mike Sears (RBI double) and Grant Magill (two-run double) also drove in runs during a five-run rally to put the Sycamores ahead 7-5.
• Randal Diaz added to the Indiana State lead with a solo home run in the top of the fourth inning to push the Sycamores ahead 8-5.
• Chase Maifield put one back in the scoring column for the Beacons in the bottom of the seventh inning driving in Kyle Schmack to cut the deficit down to 8-6.
• Connor Hicks extended the Indiana State lead with a solo home run off the batter's eye in the top of the eighth inning, while Diaz homered for the second time with a two-run shot over the left field wall to put ISU ahead 11-6.
• Liam Patton connected on a three-run home run to left in the bottom of the ninth during Valparaiso's late rally to provide the final 11-9 margin.

News & Notes

• Indiana State's win on Friday afternoon secured the Sycamores' 19th consecutive Missouri Valley series win dating back to the final weekend of the 2022 season when ISU went 2-0-1 against Dallas Baptist to start the stretch.
• The Sycamores won all nine Valley series for the second consecutive season for the first time in program history.
• Indiana State connected on back-to-back for the sixth time in the 2024 season after Luis Hernandez and Parker Stinson both connected in the first inning. It marked the first time since ISU went back-to-back since Dominic Listi and Luis Hernandez connected in the bottom of the seventh inning against Belmont back on May 4.
• Indiana State's six home runs on Friday afternoon marked the most by the Sycamores this season surpassing their previous high of five set on four separate occasions, including Thursday afternoon. The six home runs were the most by the Sycamores since ISU connected on six homers back on April 24, 2022, against Evansville.
• Randal Diaz recorded his second multi-homer game of the 2024 season equaling the feat he achieved back on May 3 against Belmont.
• Luis Hernandez hit multiple homers for the third time this season and first since May 4 against Belmont.
• It marked the 10th and 11th times an ISU player has connected on two or more home runs in the same game this season.
• Hernandez hit home runs No. 19 and No. 20 on Friday afternoon to move into a tie for second all-time in the ISU single season home run records set by Boi Rodriguez (1985).
• Diaz connected on home runs No. 14 and No. 15 on Friday afternoon.
• Parker Stinson connected on his 15th homer of the 2024 season.
• Connor Hicks connected on his second home run of the 2024 season and first since going deep on March 26 against Purdue.
• Josue Urdaneta extended his on-base streak to 38 consecutive games after drawing a leadoff walk in the top of the third inning. He finished the day 2-for-4 with a walk and pair of runs scored.
• Adam Pottinger extended his on-base streak to 21 consecutive games on Friday following his single in the top of the third inning. He finished the day 3-for-5 with a run scored.
• Randal Diaz extended his hitting streak to 22 consecutive games and on-base streak to 28 games following his one-out solo home run in the top of the fourth inning. He finished the day 3-for-5 with two home runs, two runs scored, and three RBIs.
• Zach Davidson continues to deal out of the bullpen. The senior left-hander has put together a statistical line of 14.2 IP, 26 strikeouts, and one unearned run over his last three outings following Friday afternoon.
• The Sycamores are 47-8-1 over their last 56 Missouri Valley conference games.
• Indiana State improved to 19-0 in the second game of an MVC conference series dating back to 2022.

Up Next
Indiana State closes out the weekend series against Valparaiso as the Sycamores and Beacons are back on the field tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. ET. The game is set to be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
 
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